Early Christian Studies Research Articles

Messianism among Jews and Christians: Twelve Biblical and Historical Studies (review)

Reviewed by: Messianism among Jews and Christians: Twelve Biblical and Historical Studies Wayne A. Meeks William Horbury . Messianism among Jews and Christians: Twelve Biblical and Historical Studies. London and New York: T and T Clark, 2003. Pp. ix + 417. Early in the Gospel according to John, a vivid scene portrays John the Baptist interrogated by emissaries from "the Pharisees" in Jerusalem. "Who are you?" the latter ask. "I am not the Anointed One," he replies. "What then, are you Elijah?" "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" "No." "Who are you then, that we may answer those who sent us?" (John 1.20-22). Almost uniquely among early Christian documents, this scene suggests the wide diversity of speculation among some Jews in the early Roman period about special messengers who might be sent by God at "the end of days." Reminders of that diversity of eschatological hope fit the rhetorical strategy of the Fourth Evangelist, but most Christian apologetics for the following nineteen centuries would follow a simpler construction, first clearly laid out in the two-volume work comprising the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Its central theme may be summed up in a syllogism: The scriptures of Israel predict the coming of a single Messiah whose expected character and actions those scriptures delineate. The story of Jesus fits that prophecy perfectly. Therefore all sensible and honest Jews should have recognized him as the Messiah. Although the origins of this scheme in Christian apologetics are evident, some parts of it have continued to influence the common picture of Judaism in antiquity, even in nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholarship. The notion has persisted that some kind of Jewish "orthodoxy" existed, despite evidence for considerable variety in belief and practice, and that expectation of a Messiah was an important element in that orthodoxy. In recent decades the ground has shifted. Modern scholarship has tended more and more to emphasize the diversity of Jewish eschatological beliefs in the early centuries of the common era and, moreover, to suggest that such beliefs were less central to the lives of most Jews than Christians have assumed. While the identity of the early followers of Jesus was centered on the confession of his identity as "Messiah," the identity of most Jews was centered on their practical appropriation of the Torah—variously construed by various groups—and on their general allegiance to their ethnic communities in towns of the Diaspora. William Horbury, professor of Jewish and Early Christian studies at the University of Cambridge, has been laboring to reverse the current trend. He [End Page 336] argues that "messianism" is a central and defining theme in Judaism throughout the period "roughly from Haggai to Bar Kokhba," that it arises directly from themes in the Hebrew Bible, and that it is a feature of the "great stream of biblical interpretation" that can be discerned already in the translations of the Septuagint and then in the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical writings, in writings of the Jewish Greek-speaking Diaspora, in early as well as late rabbinic literature, and of course in early Christian documents. The twelve essays included here were originally published between 1981 and 1998. In 1998 Horbury also published a book drawing together their substance under the general theme "Jewish Messianism and the Cult of Christ."1 Because Horbury has updated the essays for the new publication, to some extent taking account of criticisms of the earlier book, the present volume represents the latest stage in an ongoing argument—if "argument" is the right word, for in fact there is surprisingly little argument in the book. Rather, there are repeated assertions of the main theses, juxtaposed without very clear logical connection with a treasure of mostly quite interesting evidence from an unusually broad spectrum of sources. Some of the scholars who interpret the evidence differently are mentioned, but only rarely does Horbury engage them in pertinent debate. There is very much that is valuable in the essays. Horbury is a keen reader of texts, and he has read from an assortment of literatures that for most of us are separated by the boundaries of academic disciplines or linguistic competence. His sources range across Greek...

The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology (review)

Reviewed by: The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology Paul B. Harvey Jr. John Anthony McGuckin The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology The Westminster Handbooks to Christian Theology Louisville and London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004 Pp. xxiii + 367. $39.95. The publisher's aim for the series in which this volume appears is "to assist scholars and students find concise and accurate treatments of important theological terms." The sole author of this Handbook (and of another in the [End Page 548] same series, on Origen [2003]) has a more realistic vision of his audience, i.e., undergraduate and M.A.-level students as well as lay folk. That is, this Handbook (better: a patristics dictionary) is a reliable ready-reference for those lacking specialized knowledge and not well versed in the scholarly literature nor in foreign tongues ancient or modern. Coverage is broad: topics, terminology, and personalities from the late first through the sixth centuries (with a few relevant entries from later eras, e.g., Photius) significant for the study of early Christianity are listed alphabetically. As McGuckin disarmingly notes in his preface, which is an integral component of the volume, this alphabetical arrangement affords easy consultation-provided you know, first, exactly for what you are looking. Therefore, in lieu of an index, the author supplies prefatory thematic guides with entries grouped by century and by topic (e.g., "Eschatology," "Trinity") as well as a complete alphabetical list of the entries. Throughout the book cross-referencing is visually easy through bold-faced, italicized words directing the reader to other pertinent entries. This is a very user-friendly text. One of the author's expressed prefatory expectations is that his Handbook makes for an edifying, even enjoyable book in which to browse. A high-level of accuracy, a coherent, logical format, and a lucid style have, in this reader's opinion, achieved that end. What of the character and quality of the entries? McGuckin is not only an academic and well-published specialist in Early Church and Byzantine Studies; he is also an Orthodox priest. He thus brings a welcome Orthodox perspective to a variety of topics and thereby reminds Anglophone readers of a distinctive theological and ecclesiastical tradition. See, for example, his entries on "Enhypostasia," "Marriage," and "Purgatory." The author is particularly interested in theological topics and religious praxis as is evident in the fine discussions of "Monophysitism," "Prayer," "Soteriology," and "Soul." Several of the longer entries are jewels of carefully crafted and well balanced exposition. Notable here are the entries on "Persecution" (an admirably cautious, historically-nuanced account), "Patristics," "Patrology" (the latter two entries are significant for setting out what the author conceives his subject to be), "Revelation," and "Sexual ethics." Divergent voices in early Christianity are heard. Thus, concise, lucid entries on "Docetic," "Donatism" (where reference to M. A. Tilley's Donatist Martyr Stories, Translated Texts for Historians 24 [Liverpool, 1996] would have been appropriate), "Encratism," and "Montanism" (where we miss the name Tabbernee in the bibliography) make clear what was and was not distinctive in those espousing particular "heretical" views and practices. Major literary personalities receive the expected full treatment, but certain minor individuals are missing. Romanos the Melodist receives brief, authoritative treatment, but Victorinus of Pettau (and what Jerome did with his work) is absent. That particular omission is unfortunate because reference to Victorinus would have bolstered the short essay on eschatology. Each entry receives a concluding bibliography of varying substance; indeed, it is not entirely clear what were the guiding principles for bibliographic citations. Sometimes an entry lists accessible translations and recent, standard scholarship (Paulinus of Nola, for example); but often, as I have suggested above, standard [End Page 549] scholarship is missing. Where, for example, in the entry on John Cassian is Owen Chadwick's justly acclaimed study? Available translations are not consistently listed. These are not minor quibbles in view of the target audience, which will not always know where to find reliable discussion and translations. We would thus have expected to see reference to Michael W. Holmes' fine second edition (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002) of Lightfoot and Harmer's old standard, The Apostolic Fathers (1891). Bart D. Ehrman's new edition and...

The Catholic University of America The Center for the Study of Early Christianity AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ‘Early Christian Studies and the Academic Disciplines’ Early June 2005

The study of early Christianity has never been monopolised by historians, even though a keen historical sense is crucial to a full understanding of Christianity's initial development. Biblical scholars, experts on Judaism, classicists, archaeologists, art historians, sociologists and anthropologists, philosophers and theologians have all laid claim to a rightful interest in the field, and have contributed to its vitality and its clarity of interpretation.

Quodvultdeus of Carthage. The apocalyptic theology of a Roman African in exile. By Daniel van Slyke. (Early Christian Studies, 5.) Pp. xiii+344. Strathfield, NSW: St Pauls Publications (with the Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University), 2003. $47 (paper). 0 9577483 6 1

<i>Quodvultdeus of Carthage. The apocalyptic theology of a Roman African in exile</i>. By Daniel van Slyke. (Early Christian Studies, 5.) Pp. xiii+344. Strathfield, NSW: St Pauls Publications (with the Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University), 2003. $47 (paper). 0 9577483 6 1

Andrew. Louth, St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology. Oxford Early Christian Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. xvii+327 pp. $70.00 (cloth).

Andrew. Louth, <i>St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology</i>. Oxford Early Christian Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. xvii+327 pp. $70.00 (cloth).

Early Christian Families in Context: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue (review)

Reviewed by: Early Christian Families in Context: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue Andrew Jacobs David L. Balch and Carolyn Osiek , editors Early Christian Families in Context: An Interdisciplinary DialogueGrand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003 Pp. xix + 412 + 11 plates. $28 (paper). Emerging out of a 2000 Brite Divinity School conference on the family and/in early Christianity, these seventeen papers (fourteen essays and three responses) provide excellent insight into the directions, methods, and materials of the burgeoning "early Christian families" industry. Balch and Osiek (whose collaborative 1997 Families in the New Testament World: Households and House Churches [Westminster/John Knox] arguably propelled the family in early Christian studies to new prominence) construe "interdisciplinarity" in a manner familiar to most students of early Christianity with a few twists: elements from classical studies (literary and epigraphic), archaeology, New Testament studies, early Judaism, ancient Christianity ("patristics") as well as critical insights drawn from sociology, anthropology, discourse analysis, comparative social history, and psychobiology. The first section treats "Archaeology of the Domus and Insulae." Andrew Wallace-Hadrill (3-18) wants us to "think about Rome not so much as an undifferentiated sea of distinct units of housing, be they domus or insulae . . . but as a series of cellular neighborhoods" (13). Rigid notions of "household" that preserve class and ethnic division give way here to overflowing "housefuls" encouraging much more social mixing. Monika Trümper (19-43) surveys house-types from ancient Delos in order to balance out our Rome-centric sense of urban topography and give a better sense of the type of house in which Paul himself might have preached. In the only essay in this section to treat the family directly, Eric Meyers (44-69) lays out the ways in which archaeology (here, of Roman Galilee) corrects our sense of family dynamics, showing that the unhelpful "public/private" division of "gendered space" "simply cannot characterize this space [the house] where all manner of household, family, and everyday activities were carried on" (59). The second section, "Domestic Values: Equality, Suffering," juxtaposes the two most dissimilar offerings in the collection. Peter Lampe (73-83) asks, "What does modern brain research have to do with theology?" (73) before introducing neurophilosophy into the study of Pauline house churches. He seeks to understand how Paul's communities negotiated the cognitive disconnection between "social" and "mental" constructs of equality (inside the house church) and inequality (in society at large). Lampe's is a creative but ultimately baffling and idiosyncratic attempt to preserve an early Christian erasure of hierarchy and explain away Paul's inconsistencies regarding social status. David Balch (84-108) asks, "What would Paul's word picture of Christ crucified look like, and would some Greco-Roman domestic paintings and sculptures have helped make his gospel comprehensible?" (88). The author draws on ancient art and art criticism to imagine the way in which common household images, such as Iphigeneia and Laocoon, inform the social and theological context of Paul's preaching. Parts III and IV on "Women" and "Slaves" respectively are the strongest in the [End Page 376] volume. Suzanne Dixon's work (111-29) on family in the Roman context is an invaluable source for students of the early Christian family. Moving fluidly between magical and philosophical texts, she pointedly asks what blinders prevent scholars from imagining affective (indeed, passionate) bonds between ancient husbands and wives. Next, Ross Kraemer (130-56) examines the unusually well-documented family lives of two Jewish women, i.e., Berenice, great-granddaughter of Herod the Great and paramour of Titus and Babatha, whose documentary archive survives among detritus of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Kraemer comes to the conclusion that "the study of Jewish families, while fascinating in itself, is not as germane to the study of early Christian families as it might initially seem" since "the dynamics of Jewish families do not appear appreciably different from those of non-Jews . . . in the early imperial Roman period" (155). It is refreshing to be reminded that ancient Jews do not always serve as "background sources" for the study of early Christianity. Margaret Y. MacDonald (157-84) rehearses familiar arguments for the centrality of women in the life and leadership of the first- and second-century church. Finally...

St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology. By Andrew Louth. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. xviii + 327 pp. $74.00 cloth.

St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology. By Andrew Louth. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. xviii + 327 pp. $74.00 cloth. - Volume 73 Issue 3

Eric, Plumer, trans. Augustine’s Commentary on Galatians. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. xvii+294 pp. $70.00 (cloth).

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewEric, Plumer, trans. Augustine’s Commentary on Galatians. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. xvii+294 pp. $70.00 (cloth).Paula FredriksenPaula FredriksenBoston University. Search for more articles by this author Boston University.PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Religion Volume 84, Number 3July 2004 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/424415 Views: 12Total views on this site Permission to reprint a book review printed in this section may be obtained only from the author.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Commentaries of Origen and Jerome on St Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. Translated by Ronald E. Heine. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. xii + 297 pp. $85.00 cloth.

The Commentaries of Origen and Jerome on St Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. Translated by Ronald E. Heine. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. xii + 297 pp. $85.00 cloth. - Volume 73 Issue 2

Madness in the Method? the Acts of the Apostles in Current Study

Scholarship on the book of Acts frequently proceeds under the 'no final con flict' slogan when it comes to employing a diversity of methods. In this essay, however, some of the fundamental assumptions and approaches to Acts in recent scholarship are examined and challenged, raising questions related to the proliferation of method in New Testament and early Christian studies, the underlying methodological assumptions of particular interpre tive approaches, and the sublimation of theology and ideology in scholar ship. The past 15 years of Acts scholarship provides the context for this broad survey and interaction. The essential contours of the discussion are focused around matters related to genre, the nature of Acts as 'text', the book's connections to its broader socio-cultural and historical worlds, and, finally, to matters related to post-critical interactions with Acts. No easy solutions are offered in this essay; rather, the broad discussion of method in current Acts scholarship pushes for a return to greater methodological awareness and reflection in the discipline.

The Studia Philonica Annual, Volume 13: In the Spirit of Faith: Studies in Philo and Early Christianity in Honor of David Hay (review)

Reviewed by: The Studia Philonica Annual, Volume 13: In the Spirit of Faith: Studies in Philo and Early Christianity in Honor of David Hay Lester L. Grabbe The Studia Philonica Annual, Volume 13: In the Spirit of Faith: Studies in Philo and Early Christianity in Honor of David Hay, edited by David T. Runia and Gregory E. Sterling. Brown Judaic Studies 332. Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 2001. 304 pp. $37.95. The Studia Philonica Annual focuses on Philo of Alexandria but takes in all aspects of “Hellenistic Judaism.” This particular volume is a Festschrift in honor of David M. Hay. Much of Hay’s work has been on Philo, though he is probably best known to a wider audience for his 1973 book, Glory at the Right Hand: Ps. 110 in the Early Church, and for his 2000 commentary on Colossians (both Nashville: Abingdon). The essays in this volume cover Philo and Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity. There is no particular theme to the volume, but one motif that emerges in several essays is the somewhat complicated relationship between Philo’s love of Greek thought and culture and his conviction of the superiority of Judaism and the Jews. Ellen Birnbaum (“Philo on the Greeks: A Jewish Perspective on Culture and Society in First-Century Alexandria”) shows how complex and difficult it is to assess Philo’s views, probably because the Alexandrian opponents of the Jews were from the Greek community. Although Philo makes some critical comments about Greeks, he clearly admires them (the majority of references are in fact positive or neutral; however, he thinks the Jews are superior). He never refers to his opponents as “Greeks” but as “Alexandrians” and “Egyptians” (it is unlikely that any of the opponents were actually native Egyptians). Although Philo’s exact connotation may be unclear, I am not sure that Birnbaum’s counsel to simply use his terminology is the solution. James R. Royse (“Philo’s Division of his Works into Books”) notes that some ancient writers apparently did not divide up their writings into books (e.g., Herodotus, Thucydides), though others did (e.g., Polybius). There are a number of indications that Philo followed the practice of dividing his writings into books. Royse focuses in particular on the Quaestiones et solutiones in Genesim and Quaestiones et solutiones in Exodum. Peder Borgen (“Application of and Commitment to the Laws of Moses: Observations on Philo’s Treatise On the Embassy to Gaius”) argues that the treatise on Gaius has much in common with his expository writings, showing how the law functioned in communal life. One of the aims of the Embassy is to show the strength of the Jewish commitment in opposing Gaius’s statue in the temple. David T. Runia (“Philo’s Reading of the Psalms”) looks at all the passages where Philo quotes or alludes to the Psalms (c. 30 in all). Although he does not often exploit the full spiritual potential of the Psalms, Philo can when he wants to. That he does not do so more frequently is probably because his allegorical spiritualizing of the Pentateuch renders this use of the Psalms unnecessary. Karl-Gustav Sandelin (“Philo’s Ambivalence towards Statues”) illustrates the ambiguity of Philo’s attitude. On the one hand, he detests “idolatry,” which he interprets as the worship of icons and polytheism, and speaks out against it. Yet a number of [End Page 154] passages show an appreciation of and even fascination with artists and even the divine statues of the surrounding Greco-Roman world. David Winston (“Philo of Alexandria and Ibn al-‘Arabi”) compares the medieval Sufi mystic with Philo, showing some remarkable parallels. These seem to come from their mystical view of reality rather than any organic connection. Thomas H. Tobin, S.J. (“The Jewish Context of Rom 5:12–14”) examines Paul’s contrast of Adam and Christ by looking at how Adam’s sin was interpreted in early Jewish texts. This context shows that Paul was not trying to develop a “doctrine of original sin”; rather his concern was the relationship of Jews and Gentiles and grace for both apart from the Law. Since Adam was prior to the Law of Moses...

The life of Polycarp: an anonymous vita from third-century Smyrna. Edited and translated with an introduction and notes by Alistair Stewart-Sykes. (Early Christian Studies, 4.) Pp. xii+168. Sydney: St Pauls Publications, 2002. 0 9577483 4 5

The life of Polycarp: an anonymous vita from third-century Smyrna. Edited and translated with an introduction and notes by Alistair Stewart-Sykes. (Early Christian Studies, 4.) Pp. xii+168. Sydney: St Pauls Publications, 2002. 0 9577483 4 5 - Volume 54 Issue 4

Review: The Hymn of the Pearl. The Syriac and Greek Texts with Introduction, Translations, and Notes

The Hymn of the Pearl. The Syriac and Greek Texts with Introduction, Translations, and Notes John Ferreira Pp. ix+131 (Early Christian Studies, 3.) Sydney St Paul's Publications in association with the Centre for Early Christian Studies 2002 4 9577483 3 7 Paper n.p.

The commentaries of Origen and Jerome on St Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. By Ronald E. Heine. (Oxford Early Christian Studies.) Pp. xii+297. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. £50. 0 19 924551 7

The commentaries of Origen and Jerome on St Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. By Ronald E. Heine. (Oxford Early Christian Studies.) Pp. xii+297. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. £50. 0 19 924551 7 - Volume 54 Issue 4

The Life of Polycarp. An anonymous vita from third-century Smyrna. Translated and edited by Alistair Stewart-Sykes. Early Christian Studies 4. Sydney, Australia: St. Paul's, 2002. xii + 168 pp.

The Life of Polycarp. An anonymous vita from third-century Smyrna. Translated and edited by Alistair Stewart-Sykes. Early Christian Studies 4. Sydney, Australia: St. Paul's, 2002. xii + 168 pp.

The hymn of the pearl. The Syriac and Greek texts with introduction, translations, and notes. By Johan Ferreira. (Early Christian Studies, 3.) Pp. x+131. Sydney: St Pauls Publications, 2002. 0 9577483 3 7

The hymn of the pearl. The Syriac and Greek texts with introduction, translations, and notes. By Johan Ferreira. (Early Christian Studies, 3.) Pp. x+131. Sydney: St Pauls Publications, 2002. 0 9577483 3 7 - Volume 54 Issue 3

The early development of canon law and the Council of Serdica. By Hamilton Hess. (Oxford Early Christian Studies.) Pp. xii+279. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. £45. 0 19 826975 7

The early development of canon law and the Council of Serdica. By Hamilton Hess. (Oxford Early Christian Studies.) Pp. xii+279. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. £45. 0 19 826975 7 - Volume 54 Issue 3

St John Damascene. Tradition and originality in Byzantine theology. By Andrew Louth. (Oxford Early Christian Studies.) Pp. xvii+327+frontispiece. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. £45. 0 19 925238 6

St John Damascene. Tradition and originality in Byzantine theology. By Andrew Louth. (Oxford Early Christian Studies.) Pp. xvii+327+frontispiece. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. £45. 0 19 925238 6 - Volume 54 Issue 3

St. Symeon, the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition (review)

St Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition. By Hilarion Alfeyev. [Oxford Early Christian Studies.] (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2000. Pp.338.L57.) Alfeyev's monograph on the eleventh-century monk Symeon the New Theologian completes half century of critical editions and studies devoted to this controversial by scholars of different Christian denominations. Alfeyev aims to show that Symeon's life and thought are in perfect harmony with modern Orthodox beliefs, defined as the natural continuation of the Greek patristic tradition. Whilst ostensibly integrating the visionary aspect of Symeon to his ascetic experience in the twofold division of the book, it is Symeon's mystical experience which is emphasized, since it is precisely his mysticism that Alfeyev considers Orthodox, describing his book as a of the mystical nature of tradition and of the traditional nature of mysticism, and of Symeon as both highly personal and at the same time very traditional ecclesiastical figure (p. 4). This is book in which the priori conclusion informs the handling of the material; its thesis is never posited as hypothesis, but merely shown forth as self-evident truth. Thus, despite the impressive apparatus, the scholarly value of the work is seriously questionable: the handling of the evidence is biased, with quotations having both significant and substantial silent omissions; the work of previous scholars is inadequately acknowledged or discussed, though often sharply criticized; and whatever is jarring in the argument is either left out, or, at best, relegated to footnotes. To give an example. The question of Symeon's Messalianism is never addressed directly but mentioned only in scattered footnotes after brief attack on scholars who regard Symeon's thought as close to that heresy (Mango and Garsoian at p. 3, nn. 10-13). Turner's detailed article on this topic is not in the bibliography, and this scholar's nuanced views on Symeon's intellectual development and complex relation to his spiritual father are lightly brushed aside (p. 123). In mentioning the recently published works of the eighth-century Nestorian monk, John of Dalyatha, Alfeyev limits himself to a few parallels, without providing list of corresponding points, declaring that, despite the striking similarity between the visions of light of this Syriac monk to Symeon's, close of this author falls beyond the scope of the present study (p. …

St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology (review)

St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology. By Andrew Louth. [Oxford Early Christian Studies.] (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2002. Pp. xvii, 327.L45.) This book reminds me of the merchant finding a of great price, and selling everything to possess it. For many years, Professor Louth has dedicated all his spare time and energy to discovering the spirit-the mind and heart, as well as the teaching-of John Damascene. However, unlike the merchant, he has generously placed at the disposal of others this extraordinary pearl of Byzantine theology. John is an unusual theologian: clearly very intelligent and well read in his great predecessors, especially the Cappadocians, Ps.-Denys, and Maximus the Confessor. However, he saw his theological work to be mainly that of a transmitter. The role of the speculative theologian, or at least that of the discoverer of new relationships, was not for him. Instead, he tried to be scrupulously careful in exposing the explanation of dogmatic truth that he found in the Fathers. This required sensitivity and firm good sense as he picked his way through the quicksands of both Trinitarian and Christological contoversy. Professor Louth, in one of his best chapters, identifies him as a Chalcedonian, insisting on the two natures, but leaning over backwards to satisfy those devoted to Cyril's formula:one of God the Word. So John was clearly a Neo-Chalcedonian (or Cyrilline Chalcedonian). This leads, Professor Louth points out (e.g. pp. 162,175), to a notable asymmetry in the role of the two natures: the divine does not partake of the passions of the flesh, and while the nature of the flesh is deified, the nature of the is not incarnate (quoting John himself). It is difficult to reconcile this with the Chalcedonian definition with its emphasis on the symmetry between divinity and humanity. But Professor Louth is ready to acknowledge other weaknesses in John's approach, such as his shrilly supersessionist account of the superiority of Christians over idolatrous Jews (p. 203, and for other points see pp. 166,170-171,177). In this way he can give a very balanced account of John the theologian. The key to interpreting John is to be found (suggests Professor Louth) in his monastic vocation. Where his personal character emerges is in his sermons, with their almost baroque accumulation of rhetorical imagery (very well presented in a chapter on John the Preacher), and above all in his liturgical hymns, the canons as the Greeks call them, which are interspersed in the singing of the divine Office, coming between the biblical canticles. Here also John is drawing on tradition, linking phrases taken from earlier authors (many of which have been identified by the learned Nikodimos, active on Mount Athos in the early nineteenth century). This same devotion to the living reality of God, the Word Incarnate, and the Virgin Mary, probably provided the motive force for the compilation of the dogmatic and polemical works (p. 144). For Professor Louth the structure of John's main work based on the century-one hundred chapters-indicates a monastic mould (and indeed many Byzantine spiritual writings take the form of a hundred chapters or aphorisms). He claims that John has to be seen in this context: This, I think, is worth noting: John's The Fountain Head of Knowledge is not really a proto-scholastic summary, as it is often taken to be; rather, it is concerned with shaping and moulding the monastic vocation of its readers, or, more widely, with denning what it is to be a Christian, understood less as a set of beliefs (despite the high doctrinal content) than as a way of life. …